The Lula Washington Dance Theatre will be having a performance/ fundraiser this Saturday May 16, 2009 at 8:00 pm to help fellow dancer Haniyyah T. Muhammad, who auditioned and was accepted into the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's (AAADT) Summer Intensive Program in New York.Â

The AAADT Summer Intensive Program is a 6-week training period for pre-professionals, ages 16-25, with a minimum of three years of consistent training in ballet and modern dance. The program is structured to advance the technical skills of the students in a wide variety of techniques, which include daily ballet classes, Horton or Graham -based modern, jazz, tap, yoga and body conditioning to name a few. This is an awesome opportunity for Haniyyah to fulfill a dream that she has worked so very hard for.

Haniyyah began dancing at the age of 8, attending the Los Angeles Academy of Fine Arts until age 12. After a 3 year hiatus, in 2005 at the age of 15 she began taking classes at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT). Within a year she was asked to apprentice in the Adult Company under the direction of Ms. Washington herself, and in 2008 she became full company member. Haniyyah made her debut with LWDT in the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl dancing to a live performance by the legendary McCoy Tyner. She has traveled all over the US performing with LWDT, places include The Lincoln Center in New York, Jacobs Pillow in Massachusetts, The Virginia Arts Festival, Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza in Las Vagas, the Laguna Beach Dance Festival, the Redlands Bowl Dance Festival and in Denver Colorado for the International Association of Blacks in Dance to name a few. The company even is scheduled to perform in China this year.

Through LWDT she has been given the opportunity to dance and act in musical play "The Return", directed by legendary dancer and choreographer Mr. Donald McKayle. The story is based on the true story about Ethiopian Jews who were rescued from persecution. She has also worked with director James Cameron (Titanic) on the upcoming 3-D animation movie "Avatar", scheduled to open December of this year, where the dancer's movements were computerized and used in 3-D animation.

Haniyyah is a graduate of City of Angels High School (Independent Study) and now attends Fremont College studying Massage therapy and plans to attend Santa Monica College in the fall to double major in Kinesiology and Dance.

This will be the first opportunity for her to study and train away from home in a profession that she loves so dearly.

The performance/ fundraiser will also be a great opportunity for people who love the arts and who just want to come and support. There will be short skits, spoken word poetry, musical performances, and of course the dance expressions of Haniyyah T. Muhammad again all of this will be held at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre located at 3773 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. For more information about Haniyyah and/or this event please visit HaniaDance.comÂ